Interstate 126

Interstate 126 marker

Interstate 126
Lester Bates Freeway
Route information
Maintained by SCDOT
Length: 3.68 mi[1][2] (5.92 km)
Existed: 1961 – present
Major junctions
West end: I-26 / US 76 in Columbia
East end: US 21 / US 76 / US 176 / US 321 in Downtown Columbia
Location
Counties: Richland
Highway system
← SC 125SC 126 →

Interstate 126 (I-126) is a spur route of I-26, almost entirely within the city limits of Columbia in the U.S. state of South Carolina.

Route description

Traversing a total of 3.68 miles (5.92 km), it starts at exit 108 along I-26, it has exits with I-20 (westbound only, signed "Exit 107" as it leads to the I-26 interchange), Colonial Life Boulevard (westbound only) and Greystone Boulevard (to Riverbanks Zoo), before crossing the Broad River on the Timmerman Bridge. Past the bridge is a final interchange with US 21/US 176/US 321 (Huger Street). Entering downtown Columbia, it merges briefly with US 21/US 176/US 321, at Huger Street, before ending at Gadsden Street. It is named the Lester Bates Freeway and is co-signed with US 76 for the entire route.

History

Construction started on I-126 in 1959 and it was completed in 1961 as a four-lane freeway spur of I-26 which opened at the same time. Around 1980, it was widened to six lanes to from I-26 to Greystone Boulevard and eight lanes from there to Huger Street. By the 1990s, a lane was added eastbound from Colonial Life Boulevard to Greystone Boulevard and westbound from Greystone Boulevard to a new I-20 exit just before its western terminus. The eastern terminus of I-126 has fluctuated between Huger Street and Gadsden Street.[3]

Exit list

All exits are unnumbered. The entire route is in Columbia, Richland County.

mi[2]kmExitDestinationsNotes
0.00.0— I-26 / US 76 west – Charleston, SpartanburgWestern terminus; western end of US 76 concurrency
0.81.3Colonial Life Boulevard to Bush River RoadWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
1.93.1Greystone Boulevard – Riverbanks Zoo
3.45.5 US 21 south / US 176 east / US 321 south (Huger Street)East US 176 and south end of US 21/US 321 concurrency
3.76.0— US 21 north / US 76 east / US 176 west / US 321 north / Gadsden StreetEastern terminus; eastern end of US 76 concurrency
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Interstate 126 Business

Interstate 126 Business
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
Length: 0.9 mi[4] (1.4 km)
Existed: Unknown–

Interstate 126 Business (I-126 Bus) was a boulevard-grade business spur of I-126 along Elmwood Avenue, between Huger Street and Bull Street; in concurrence with US 21/US 76/US 176/US 321. The route was never marked on state, county or city highway maps. Signage proliferated along the westbound route in the late 1970s from Bull Street to Assembly Street,[5] but by 2000 only one sign remained and this was gone by the mid 2000s. At some point, I-126 absorbed part of the business spur from Huger Street to Gadsden Street. It is considered decommissioned as no current state/federal maps list it, nor does any physical signage exist.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Route Log and Finder List - Interstate System: Table 2". FHWA. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
  2. 1 2 Google (May 19, 2013). "Interstate 126" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  3. ↑ General Highway Map, York County, South Carolina (PDF) (Map). Cartography by SCDOT. South Carolina Department of Transportation. 1963. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  4. ↑ Google (May 19, 2013). "Business Spur 126" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  5. ↑ These signs were added with a major signage overhaul on Elmwood Avenue around 1978 when US 21/US 176/US 321 were moved from Assembly Street to Huger Street, SC 215 was removed form the route and SC 48 was extended up Assembly Street to Elmwood Avenue

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, December 17, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.